Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman (1) pulls down a touchdown pass over Rice safety JT Ibe (17), left, in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte) less

Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman (1) pulls down a touchdown pass over Rice safety JT Ibe (17), left, in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod ... more

Photo: Rod Aydelotte, Associated Press

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Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman (1) heads up field on a punt return past Rice safety JT Ibe (17) in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte) less

Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman (1) heads up field on a punt return past Rice safety JT Ibe (17) in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod ... more

Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman (1) tosses the ball after scoring on Rice safety VJ Banks (19) in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte) less

Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman (1) tosses the ball after scoring on Rice safety VJ Banks (19) in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod ... more

Photo: Rod Aydelotte, Associated Press

Image 9 of 19

Baylor defensive end Shawn Oakman (2) stops Rice running back Jowan Davis (3) in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte)

Baylor defensive end Shawn Oakman (2) stops Rice running back Jowan Davis (3) in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte)

Photo: Rod Aydelotte, Associated Press

Image 10 of 19

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Corey Coleman #1 of the Baylor Bears celebrates after scoring against the Rice Owls in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Corey Coleman #1 of the Baylor Bears celebrates after scoring against the Rice Owls in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

Photo: Tom Pennington, Getty Images

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WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Seth Russell #17 of the Baylor Bears looks for an open receiver against the Rice Owls in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Seth Russell #17 of the Baylor Bears looks for an open receiver against the Rice Owls in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

Photo: Tom Pennington, Getty Images

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WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Seth Russell #17 of the Baylor Bears looks for an open receiver against the Rice Owls in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Seth Russell #17 of the Baylor Bears looks for an open receiver against the Rice Owls in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

Photo: Tom Pennington, Getty Images

Image 13 of 19

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Seth Russell #17 of the Baylor Bears carries the ball against the Rice Owls in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Seth Russell #17 of the Baylor Bears carries the ball against the Rice Owls in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

Photo: Tom Pennington, Getty Images

Image 14 of 19

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Driphus Jackson #6 of the Rice Owls carries the ball against Andrew Billings #75 of the Baylor Bears in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: Driphus Jackson #6 of the Rice Owls carries the ball against Andrew Billings #75 of the Baylor Bears in the first quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

Photo: Tom Pennington, Getty Images

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WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: A general view as the Baylor Bears take on the Rice Owls in the second quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

WACO, TX - SEPTEMBER 26: A general view as the Baylor Bears take on the Rice Owls in the second quarter at McLane Stadium on September 26, 2015 in Waco, Texas.

Photo: Tom Pennington, Getty Images

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Baylor quarterback Seth Russell (17) throws down field against Rice in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte)

Baylor quarterback Seth Russell (17) throws down field against Rice in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte)

Photo: Rod Aydelotte, Associated Press

Image 17 of 19

Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman (1) pulls down a touchdown pass over Rice safety JT Ibe (17), left, in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte) less

Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman (1) pulls down a touchdown pass over Rice safety JT Ibe (17), left, in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod ... more

Photo: Rod Aydelotte, Associated Press

Image 18 of 19

Baylor quarterback Seth Russell (17) runs on the field following their 70-17 win over Rice after an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte)

Baylor quarterback Seth Russell (17) runs on the field following their 70-17 win over Rice after an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Rod Aydelotte)

Photo: Rod Aydelotte, Associated Press

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Briles, Baylor defense regain their edge in impressive win over Rice

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WACO -- Art Briles seldom talks much to his defense, directing most of his attention to his offense.

But when the Baylor coach made a rare visit to the defensive room earlier this week, his message was clear to a unit that sputtered in two earlier victories this season.

"Coach Briles told us we had to get our edge back," Baylor senior middle linebacker Grant Campbell said. "As a defense, we had a chip on our shoulder. We knew we had to play well today."

The forgotten part of the Bears' two-time Big 12 champions responded to the challenge as they impressively stymied Rice in a 70-17 victory.

After allowing Rice to score 10 points on its first three possessions, the Owls were limited to 165 yards during the rest of the game. From that point, the Owls scored once on their final 11 possessions of the game as the No. 5 Bears (3-0) cruised to their nation-best 18th consecutive home victory.

Briles was pleased after his defense accepted the challenge and responded with its best game of the year.

"They did a great job," he said. "We have good people, good coaches and good schemes. The defense was borderline dominant tonight. Our guys up front made some plays and put some pressure on their quarterback."

Along with the defense, Briles admitted he had lost his "personal edge" earlier this season as his program struggled in its first two games after it was under intense national scrutiny after the Sam Ukwuachu conviction.

"It's been extremely difficult and it's personally difficult," Briles said. "My job is not to be personal. It's to be professional. So I had to quit pouting. Quit acting like a baby and be a man.

"So I'm back to being a football coach representing Baylor University, doing what they hired me to do. Loving our student athletes and doing the best I can to let them be successful on and off the football field. That's where I'm at."

Baylor's nation-leading offense played to its expected level, piling up 793 yards to mark the third consecutive game it topped 700 yards. Saturday's total marked the second most in school history, topped only by 872 against West Virginia in 2013.

The ringleader was quarterback Seth Russell, who tied a school record with six touchdown passes on 12 completions before he was pulled late in the third quarter.

Russell had five TD passes by halftime, including three to Corey Coleman on tosses of 16, 35 and 32 yards.

"I just give all the credit to the guys," Russell said, chuckling. "They're the ones having to make the plays and run. They (the receivers) get kind of tired. I kind of just sit back there and look pretty. Sometimes that doesn't work and I try, but you can't ask for any much more than that."

The touchdown binge was a rare statistical anomaly. Russell became the first FBS quarterback since at least 2000 to throw for at least six touchdown passes in a game with 12 or fewer completions.

"We didn't get to throw the ball as much as we would have liked to," Briles said. "Twelve completions, six touchdowns, we'll take the six-TD part every day. That's pretty unheard of."

The only other Bears to throw six touchdowns in a game were Bryce Petty last season and Blake Szymanski in 2007.

Rice (2-2) dropped its 25th consecutive game to a ranked team since beating No. 21 BYU in 1997.

"We knew coming in here we'd have to come in here and play flawless football offensively, defensive and special teams," Rice coach David Bailiff said. "We knew coming in we would have to tackle better in space. I think we had more missed tackles today than we did in the first three games of the season combined."